Infatuation
by BeckettLove
Summary: A/U Declining in popularity as his latest book seems to be losing that touch and charm he used to have, Rick is now in search of a new muse, while raising a 4 yr old daughter as a single parent. Juggling parenthood, trying to keep his publisher satisfied, all the while trying to maintain a personal life is intense, but this ruggedly handsome dad can pull it off.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I do not own anything related to Castle. All places that I mention are made up by me and if they do exist it is strictly coincidental. I am a huge Castle fan and love the interaction Castle has with his daughter so I decided to create a story where Alexis is younger and can see Rick in more 'parental moments'. Also thought it would be interesting to see him juggling the life of single father of young infant, being a writer with all that entails as well as attempting to have a romantic life as well. Hope you all enjoy!**

**Chapter 1:**

It felt like hours since her dad had begun talking to the owner of "Copy That" bookstore. He had been asked to do a book signing for his newest book _Stormy Shadows_ and had to discuss arrangements. Minutes felt like hours for 4 year old Alexis Castle who just wanted to explore the store in search of the science kit he promised to purchase for her afterwards.

"Dad, please, I want to look, please, puh-lease!" she said while tugging at his dark grey suit jacket.

"Alexis, not now" he quickly said barely glancing at her.

She crossed her arms and tried to pout but it was no use, he was already back in deep discussion with the balding man. Her eyes began to wander the store until a large brightly colored science kit caught her attention merely 5 feet away. _Well I'll just take a quick look_. She looked back at her dad and saw he was deep in thought and inched slowly away and headed to the science kit.

It was more amazing than she could have ever imagined, "Everything you need to know about science for beginners". _I have to have this_. Her dad and her loved to try out different experiments at home and he had promised to get one after his meeting today for the two of them to work on that evening. She wandered down the aisle looking at what else they had, but only this one had interactive material inside, all the rest were just plain books. This one came with flasks and everything!

With her excitement growing rapidly she took one down carefully and ran back over to where her dad had been sitting, only he wasn't there. She scanned the store from where she stood and couldn't see him or the balding guy anywhere. The science kit tumbled out of her hand making a loud crash on the floor, and she took off at a run in search for her father, he had to be somewhere in the store.

When she finished her 4th tour, tears began to well up in her eyes and fear took over, she was lost. She headed to the front of the store and looked out the store window. She remembered her dad always saying, "if you are ever in danger, or lost, seek out an adult for help." Right away two police officers caught her attention crossing the street, _who better of an adult than a police officer to help_, she thought to herself.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoX

Katherine Beckett was tired and frustrated. Only her 2nd day on the job and already she'd arrived late, driven her cruiser into a pole smashing a tail light, and poured coffee all down her shirt. She'd been in training and everything had gone so smoothly, but ever since she was officially called a "cop", everything had gone down the drain.

Captain Montgomery had given her another case, and told her to not mess this one up, he saw great potential in her. She was ready to do this, she took a deep breath and opened the file to scan it once again. She rested the file on the steering wheel of her loaner car, while her partner, Tallie, went inside a cafe to pick up a coffee.

"Seems like a B and E. Suspect entered the home from rear window, fingerprints found and connected to suspect. Witness also spotted suspect running towards a 96' camero." She said slowly to herself making sure it was clear cut in her head. Her plan of action was to talk to the witness who currently was on shift at a jewellery store. She turned her head as she heard the passenger door open to Tallie retrieving his seat. "You ready?" He asked.

"Yep, I feel ready for this, let's do this" she said with a sigh and got out of the car.

"You know it's normal, to be stressed, being a new cop and all" Tallie said.

"Yeah, except that I graduated ahead of my class, and never even flinched during all my training, why now can't anything go right?"

"Stress, you're pushing yourself too hard to be perfect. My first day on the job I accidently signed release papers to a killer instead of an arrest warrant. That put me in a lot of hot water. So trust me, you are doing fine." He smiled at her with a little laugh and continued walking.

Movement in a store window caught her attention, a big sign was being hung up saying "Come meet Richard Castle here tomorrow at 2pm". Her heart missed a beat. She was in love with his books and had read them all. They were what kept her sane through all the finals, training and daily ordeals. His writing took her away to another place, where she felt safe, free and like nothing else mattered. She'd once hitchhiked to Brooklyn to meet him at one of his readings, only to arrive in time to see his car driving away. Her parents had been mad! That was one of the only times she'd ever truly seen her father shout at her. She also got lectured about the dangers of getting in a car with a stranger every day for nearly a year.

Her mind started wandering to what her schedule was the next day at 2, and if she could make it. She was supposed to be working a double today and should be off shift by 4 am which would give her plenty of time for sleep, shower, food and a book signing.

"What's on your mind?" She heard Tallie ask. That's when she realized she was smiling like a two year old hyped up on chocolate.

"Oh, nothing"

His eyes followed where she had been looking, "Richard Castle, you a fan?"

"I read them from time to time". _Well actually I have read them all several times and can quote nearly any passage_. But she thought it best to leave that to herself.

While she was still lost in thoughts of meeting the handsome Richard Castle in person she felt something come bounding at her legs and latch on. At first she thought it was a dog until she looked down and saw a little red headed girl with tears running down her face.

"Ple-ea-s-se, -he..ll...p...muh...me" she stuttered through her tears.

Kate pulled the little girl back at bit and knelt down to be level with her face. "What's wrong sweetheart, where are your parents?"

"I...I...was wi...with my daddy...I wanted...to see the ...the...science kit..he's gone.." Alexis managed through her tears.

"What's your name?" Kate asked calmly.

"Alexis".

Kate turned to Tallie unsure what to do. "I'll call the station for missing children reports, in the mean time listen if you are radioed in, and walk around the area. Chances are the father hasn't gone far and is in a frantic search as well." Tallie said calmly as if he was used to this kind of experience. Then again he was going on 22 years with the force, he was much more used to all this than she was.

She nodded at him and quickly turned her attention to the little red headed girl. As her eyes scanned the area, everything seemed calm, no one stood out to her that may have been her father. She felt at a loss for how to calm the girl down in order to ask her some more questions. Then she saw a little ice cream truck not too far away and held the little girls hand while she picked up a cherry slush, Alexis took a few sips and her tears began to slow down. They then set off in search of her family.

"Where do you last remember seeing him?"

"In the bookstore, he was talking to a big bald guy, and I wanted to see the science kit but he was taking forever, so I went to see it, I didn't think he would notice" she said sheepishly looking at the ground.

"It's very dangerous to leave your father without his permission, but don't worry, we will find him, okay?" Kate did not have any kids of her own or had ever really been around them so she was a little unsure of how to talk to her. Part of her felt a parental side growing wanting to tell her off for walking off, but the other part just wanted to buy her a bunch of goodies because she was so adorable!

From what she could remember there was only one bookstore within this area, the one which was going to host the author who resided in many of her dreams. She began heading back towards the store to see if one of the employees would remember seeing this little one.

"ALEXIS!" She heard a man shout from further away. Before she had a chance to turn to see where it was coming from Alexis had let go of her hand and set off at a run.

"DADDY!" By the time Kate had turned around all she could see was a very happy Alexis in the arms of a talk dark haired man. She could tell how worried the man had been by the way he would not let go of her, his head buried in the little girl's neck, and she swore she heard some tears.

Seeing this vision was what made her happy to do what she does. Being a cop has its up and downs, but being able to witness a moment like this is definitely what makes the job right for her. The negative moments that had bothered her less than fifteen minutes ago now felt so meaningless.

"Daddy I found a cop just like you said to do and she's really really nice, she bought me this slush, and she's really pretty". Alexis said trying to wiggle from her father's grip to take another sip.

"I'm glad you were able to find..." Kate began but then choked back on the rest of her words when Alexis' father raised his head to thank her. "Oh my god, you're Richard Castle!" She spurt out then quickly bit her lip trying to suppress how much she sounded like a crazed fan.

Castle just laughed and reached out his right hand to her, "please, call me Rick."

"Wow, I..I..mean Hi." _Smooth Kate, smooth. _She felt like hitting herself in the head, she finally gets to meet her idol and she can't stop making a fool of herself. She took out her hand and shook his. His skin was smooth and warm, she felt a tingling in her fingertips. She felt like she was about to faint, she was close enough to get a whiff of him, and he smelt incredible.

"Umm, is that important?" Rick asked.

"What?" he motioned to her left side, where she realized her radio had been going off. "Oh, that, umm, yeah I should probably get that". _Once again, smooth Kate, really looking like a great cop_. However, she was also considering wanting to kill whoever was radioing her that interrupted her moment.

"This is Beckett" She said into her radio.

"Tallie here, any word on the kid? No reports at the precinct"

"Yep, father was found, I'll head back to the cruiser in a minute"

"Righty-oh" Kate felt her eyes roll as her partner signed off.

"What do I owe you for the slush?" Castle was asking with his wallet out.

"Oh, nothing, please, it's on me."

"Daddy buy her a coffee, the other cop she was with was having one, maybe she wants one too" Alexis cut in while tugging once again at his suit jacket.

"Oh no, please, my pleasure, I'm just happy you are reunited". Kate said, knowing that if he were to buy her a coffee she would never be able to throw away that cup in this life time.

"Well then, thank you again, very much..uhh?"

"Oh, Kate, it's Katherine Beckett, but Kate is great" She felt her last bit of pride fade away when she realized how stupid that unintentional rhyme was.

A smile played across his lips as he once again took out his right hand in which she accepted. "Have a great evening Kate, until we meet again" he gave her a wink that made her heart melt. To avoid any further embarrassment she just gave a nod and little smile, then quickly hightailed it back to her car.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow thanks everyone who are following, adding this story to their favorites and who left reviews! It feels great, I hope you guys all enjoy the next chapter! **

**Once again I own nothing relating to Castle, just like writing about them**

**Chapter 2:**

By the time her shift was over at 4:13am, Kate was still kicking herself for how stupid she had sounded. She stopped by a 24/7 depanneur, picked up some cheap wine, and found herself knocking on her good friend Lanie's door. Lanie had graduated a year before her and was currently a medical examiner. Luckily she was off today so it didn't bother her to head over at this hour.

"Oh honey, I'm sure he's had much worse approach him. You can always try to clear it up tomorrow when you go for the book signing." Lanie said after Kate had finished explaining the previous evening's events.

"No, No way am I stepping foot in there, I'll probably make an even bigger fool of myself. Can you please go for me? I'll wait outside, just ask him to sign it but don't put a name ok?"

"Oh honey, you badly want this guy don't you? Fine, I'll go for you, but you owe me, big time!"

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoX

After she'd slept for a couple hours on Lanie's couch, Kate headed home and showered in preparation for meeting Lanie in front of the bookstore before the line would be too long. She had gone over and over the events of the previous day and finally came to the conclusion that it didn't matter, she was going to have a signed book, thanks to Lanie, then she would probably never see him again. After all it's been how many years she's been following his success and only once she had actually met him!

She had her mind made up that after she retrieved her copy she would put all this behind her. That was great in theory, until she saw him getting out of his car and making his way into the bookstore. She had forgotten to factor in how hot he was. His hair was combed back slightly to the side, sparkling white teeth behind a pair of soft luscious lips. He had on a navy blue pants suit with white silk top slightly visible unbuttoned just enough to see his muscular chest underneath.

As they had arrived fairly early Lanie was within the first few people in. There wasn't a massive amount of people like she thought it would be. The last time, in Brookklyn, there was a crowd of people, mainly women. She remembered having to push through the crowd in order to see his car.

Shortly after entering, Lanie came out with her eyes wide going on about how nice he was, how great he smelled and how smooth his voice was. Lanie hadn't given her the book until they parted nearly two hours later. They were sitting at a bistro and had just finished their late lunch, she had to make a quick stop into the lab then was headed out for a date. Before she left she handed Kate the book and hurried off.

Eager to see his writing she opened it. She knew it would be a common phrase like "to my greatest fan", "thanks for reading" or something along those lines, but even so, she was looking forward to it. Just as she was opening it she felt her phone receive a text, it was from Lanie, "_I'm sorry girl, I couldn't resist, love you, tell me all the dirty details after;) xox"_

She was confused by that and figured she must have sent the text to the wrong person. Kate shrugged it off and opened the cover, "_Kate, meet me at the Bistro on 45__th__ at 5, you're an intriguing woman and I would like to see you again, -Rick"_ She looked at her watch, it was 4:58, dammit Lanie!

She reached down to grab her bag and rush to the exit, she turned to make sure she didn't leave anything but as she turned back she felt herself run full on into someone. She kept her eyes closed for a moment longer, pretty content that she knew who it was and dreading having to face embarrassment once again. A strong arm went around her back to steady her, she could smell his scent. Slowly, she opened her eyes, praying he wasn't going to run out of here turned off by her antics. Instead she opened her eyes to a smiling face.

"In a rush?" He asked calmly in an amused voice.

"Uh, no, not really. Umm, look, you don't need to be here, I'm sure my friend Lanie just paid you off to come and mess with me, so ha ha, good for her, I can now go and die of embarrassment alone, thank you." Kate said as she turned and headed to the door.

She barely made it outside when she felt a hand lightly hold on to her shoulder. "No one paid me off, trust me it's hard to pay me off," he answered with a smirk. "When she told me who she was, I asked for you to meet me. There's something about you and I haven't been able to stop thinking about since we met yesterday."

"So, Lanie didn't ask you to ask me out?"

He laughed once again and shook his head.

Well now that's twice in the past 5 minutes she had been overwhelmed with embarrassment, _Good job Kate, high 5._ _How could she be messing this up so horribly. _

"So can I offer you a coffee?" Castle asked in a hopeful tone. He could see the uncertainty in her eyes. "Please, as a thank you, for yesterday?"

"Yeah..sure, that would be great," she forced a smile, _It's not like I can make a much bigger fool of myself anyways. _She could feel the excitement building within her, however. She couldn't count how many times she had dreamed of him asking her out for coffee.

Moments later, they were sitting in another little café not far from the bistro, awaiting their coffees. Kate was staying quite quiet, nervous to say anything based on her amazing track record with him so far.

"So, how long have you been on the force?"

"Officially not long, couple of days, but I've been working with them for quite a while during my studies and then training period."

"What made you desire to be a cop?"

"I like getting justice. I like putting the bad guys behind bars."

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Am I on trial here?" Kate let out a little laugh.

"I just want to get to know you a little better, I've always had this fascination with cops and what creates them to have the adrenaline to do what they do every day of their lives. It's a tough field to be in and you have to handle some pretty hard sights. I followed a cop for just one day when I was doing research for..."

"Oh, was that when Storm is trying to get justice for the slaying of the family in Heat Storm?" It came out so quickly she didn't even know if he understood what she had said. She noticed how she had moved to the edge of her seat, she slowly readjusted herself back in her seat, praying he wouldn't comment on it.

She saw Castle begin chuckling again as he looked down at the table, "looks like I have quite a fan". Her cheeks were so red, she felt as if they were on fire. What is it with this guy that she can't think before she speaks? "Yes that's the one." The smile of amusement was still strongly plastered on his face. He didn't know what it was about her, but there was something so intriguing that he couldn't get enough of her. He knew she was probably to young age wise for him, but she was probably maturely older than any of the women he's been with.

At that moment the waiter came with two double lattes, placing them in front of them.

"So, what about you? What made you want to be a writer?"

"I love letting my imagination run wild. Creating fictional characters, having control over their every move and every desire. Exploring all the many worlds which live within our own. Getting to physically experience them all and learn about them and better understand them."

"Seems like it's a deep passion of yours"

"Oh, yes, I wrote my first story, _A Bear called Bear, _when I was 5, my mother had it framed for me the day I was first published. Mind you the bear story never got seen by anyone but my mother and I, but she says that's when my desire began."

"Wow, maybe I can read it sometime," Her words had barely finished slipping out of her mouth before she let her head fall into her hands. _What the hell Kate! Once again talking before thinking.._

"And she's audacious" Castle said while sitting back in his chair with a surprised look on his face.

"I...I'm..sorry, I didn't mean to pry into your personal life, maybe I should go, I'm really sorry.." Beckett said as she attempted to gracefully stand up and grab her purse. Of course as luck should have it she somehow managed to knock over his latte which went spilling all over his lap causing him to leap up in surprise. _If there was ever a moment she could make herself invisible, now would be the time._ She decided to take advantage of him being preoccupied trying to dry up his pants and she grabbed her bag and ran out without looking back.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX

Once in the safety of her apartment she burst into tears as she locked the door then slid down to sit on the floor. She knew for sure this guy would never want anything do with her ever again. Plus he would probably want her to pay dry cleaning for his suit that was probably badly stained and worth thousands. As mad as she was at Lanie, she needed someone to talk to. This was a nightmare. She reached into her purse in attempts of finding her phone, when that didn`t work she emptied the contents to do a more thorough search, nothing. Thinking back, she remembered how she had placed it on the table. In all the hype she just wanted out of the cafe and hadn`t thought of looking on the table, _great job Kate._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I do not own anything related to Castle, just love playing around and creating my own tales. Thank you all to everyone who is reading this story! It makes me so happy to see all the followers! Enjoy:)**

***Later that evening***

A long hot bath had done the trick. The mixture of lavender scented bath salts and vanilla candles had done wonders to soothe her. She stepped out of the tub and wrapped herself in her silky blue robe, gathering her clothes that were on the floor and placing them in the nearby hamper. Her skin glistened and tingled. Not wanting to lose this feeling, she hurried up to make it to her bed, hoping to snuggle in and drift off into dreamland as quickly as possible. However, just as the robe was hitting the floor, she heard a knock at the door. She contemplated ignoring it, and cuddling into her blankets that were calling for her, but then the knock went again and curiosity got the better of her. So she involuntarily wrapped herself up again in her robe and headed off in the direction of the entrance. She caught a glimpse of the clock in the kitchen as she passed by indicating that it was just after 10pm, for someone to be coming at this hour it must be important. With a sigh she tied her robe tighter and reached for the doorknob really wishing she had a chance to get properly dressed first.

She did a double take when she saw him standing there looking just as gorgeous as always in a perfectly tailored navy blue suit. He reached his hand out to hand something over to her, "I believe this belongs to you?"

Her cellphone was resting in his hands, she reached up and grabbed for it, missing as he pulled it back. She looked up at him confused.

"Why did you leave in such a rush? Had I said something to offend you?" Her heart started beating faster, how could he even think that HE had offended HER! He was perfect, she was the one that couldn't seem to keep a handle on her actions.

"No, no I just had…uh…had to get home" She lied.

"Liar," a smile played across his lips.

"No, really I did."

"You are a horrible liar, has anyone ever told you that?" Castle said in amusement as he walked passed her into her apartment not awaiting permission.

"Okay, fine, I wanted to get home." She said as she rolled her eyes then did a quick visual scan of the room hoping nothing embarrassing had been left lying around. That was when she saw he was holding a coffee mug that he was currently placing on the kitchen counter.

"I brought you another latte since you didn't finish yours, just please try to drink this one and not pour it over me, okay? I mean I'm not opposed to pouring things on my body," He turned to make eye contact with her, then continued in a hushed tone "but I'd rather it not be quite as steamy as a coffee" he winked at her.

She could feel her legs getting wobbly, Richard Castle flirting with her, _still?!_ "Yeah, I am really sorry about that, I'll pay to get your suit cleaned if you'd like?"

"No, no, don't even think about that. It's already being taken care of." He waved his hand in the air brushing it off as if it was nothing. "Only minor burns remain" he said as an amused grin appeared on his face.

"Umm, how'd you find out where I live?"

"I called the station, I can be very persuasive," he winked at her once again.

This guy could have any girl he wanted, why he was here in her apartment, after all it's not like she had done much she was proud of with him, if roles were reversed, she'd take it as major signs of not being interested. Then it hit her, he COULD have any girl, was he here solely to put another notch on his belt, then she'd never hear from him again?

Reaching down in his pocket he pulled out a piece of paper and handed her his number. "Please give me a call, I'd really like to see you again." He started heading back towards the door.

Shock took over her, if he was here for sex, why was he about to leave. Fear started creeping in that maybe fate was giving her one last chance, she decided to just go for it, after all she already had many regrets, why not add another if this turned south, it couldn't get much worse, could it? "Can I get you a drink?"

"I would love one, but I have to get home, my mother's about to go out and I can't leave my daughter alone." His hand was now on the door, but she couldn't bear to see him leave.

"Your daughter?"

He chuckled a little as she turned back to face her, "yes, Alexis? The little fiery redhead you helped reunite me with yesterday?"

She could feel herself become flustered, her face was probably bright red by now, she looked down to hide it just in case, she had been so focused on him being here, in her apartment and wanting him to stay that nothing else was on her mind at that moment. "Right, sorry, I guess I'm a little more tired than I thought I was." She let out a little chuckle, hoping he wouldn't notice how fake it sounded.

"Just one quick drink?" he responded with curiosity, she looked up and saw a smile appear on his face once again.

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In reality Castle knew he had at least an hour since his mother only usually went out around midnight, and if ever he wasn't home, she would stay in. But being near this woman he didn't know how long he could resist himself. Her beauty was beyond anything he had ever seen, even with her hair in a quick up do she looked so elegant. Her robe clung to her in areas that peeked his interest. Her skin looked like porcelain, and he longed to reach out and brush his hand along it. He caught her eyes a few times, in which she quickly turned away, and he could see her cheeks were growing rosier by the second.

She reached up into the cabinet over the sink causing her robe to rise slightly giving him a teaser of some previously hidden skin. Trying to ignore the thoughts that began to swirl around his mind, he turned and headed over to the sofa which was still in clear view of the kitchen. Moments later, she returned with two glasses of wine, bending over to pass it to him. He forced his attention on to the glass in hopes of lessening his growing excitement, hoping it wasn't obvious to her.

"Please excuse me for a moment," she said with a hint of seduction in her tone. He could tell she had been checking him out, he caught her eyes doing a tour of his body when he first walked in. He began wondering if it was wise of him to have stayed for the drink after all being as they were in such a private place. He didn't know what it was but when he saw her, he seemed to have no self-control. There was something about her that made him not only want, but NEED to get to know her. There was almost a magnetic pull that he felt, right from the moment he first laid eyes on her. He could not get her out of his brain. In truth, he was thrilled she had forgotten her phone on the table earlier that day, if she had not, he feared not knowing how to see her again.

He was used to having girls fawn over him, inviting him back to their place. He too would often invite them in to his luxurious loft, only when Alexis was not around of course. He may have desires and needs, but none would ever come in between his number one priority of being a father. If Alexis were to meet any of the women he ever invited over, it was because he saw a long time future with them and not just a one night 'sleepover'. With Kate Beckett, there was something about her that he wanted to learn more about her. He didn't want to sleep with her now and never see her again.

A few more moments passed before she returned, this time in a pair of jeans that showed off her lovely curves, and a fitted grey t-shirt. Her hair was now neatly pulled back into a ponytail. "Sorry I hadn't expected anyone at this hour." She stated once she returned, taking a seat on the sofa right next to him.

"No, it's fine," secretly very glad and 'excited' that he had gotten to see her in a skimpy robe. "I didn't mean to bother you so late, I figured you'd want your cell phone back."

"Yes, I appreciate that, thanks." A small seductive smile crept across her face in which he returned. "So, is it my turn to ask you some questions now?"

He let out a few laughs, then said "sure".

"Are you currently still with Alexis' mom?"

"Wow you start with intense questions," he put his glass down and leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath.

"If it's too personal, forget I asked." She said quickly.

"It's not, just difficult to answer. Divorce papers will be final the end of this week."

"Oh my, I am so sorry. Were you together long?" Concern filled her face.

"Uh, nearly six years, on and off. Married for the last four. We've been separated about a year now."

"Have you tried counselling?"

He let out a little laugh, "yeah but her boyfriend wasn't too keen on it."

"Oh, I see. Had you known?"

"I suspected, but never knew for sure until I decided to surprise her one night by coming home early from a book tour last year, surprise was on me catching her with her director between her legs." He looked down, clearly hurt at revisiting that image.

"Wow, I don't even know what to say" this time Beckett looked down, feeling a bit awkward for getting into this topic. "I'm sorry."

"Well, what's past is history, look into the future." He said looking back to her.

"Is Alexis handling it okay?"

"Well it was tough for her, but her mom's an actress who takes many out of state jobs, so she's used to not having her mom around all the time."

Without thinking she reached over and put her hand his leg giving it a light squeeze, "you're an amazing man to be able to raise a little girl all on your own and still have a very well growing career."

"Ah, the joys of writing, it can be done from home" he said with a wink. He put his hand on hers and gave it a little squeeze. Then looked over into her gleaming eyes.

She caught his eyes and realized how close they actually were, she looked down at his lips, only several inches apart, they seemed to be getting closer, she wasn't even aware of whether it was her or him that was cutting the distance. They were only about two inches apart now, she could smell the scent of the wine radiating from his breath. His cologne was over powering, she could feel herself being swept up in it.

Less than an inch was left, she could feel other parts of her body start to tingle and long for his touch. It felt almost unreal when his lips met hers, they were soft, smooth and gentle. She held on to his top lip, not wanting to let go. She felt his tongue slide along her bottom lip, then she used the opportunity to let her tongue feel his. She felt a wave of heat arise within her.

Their tongues explored each other's mouths for a few moments longer, before he pushed her back lightly and left a trail of kisses across her cheek, jaw line, then to the curve of her neck. She heard herself let out a few sounds of arousal. A smile played across his lips and he returned to hers. He wanted to keep tasting her, taking in all that he could of her. But he knew if he didn't stop this was going to go somewhere further, and this was neither the time or place, if there was something between them he was going to do this right.

With all his power of restraint being used and against the very 'large' protests from between his legs, he pulled away from her. He could see the look of disappointment creep across her face. "I need to be getting back home now, but please, say you'll go out with me again?"

"I think that can be arranged," she said with a flirty seductive smile and wink.

"Good," he started to move back in for one more kiss to hold onto, then fought back the urge, not sure if he had the willpower to be able to stop it at just a kiss. He stood up instead, and headed towards the door, within moments, he was gone.

When she clicked on her phone she saw she had a missed call from the precinct, a couple texts from Lanie, and a reminder. She hadn't remembered putting any reminders in her phone, she opened it to see it written for the following day, "Date with Richard Castle, 7pm." A smiled crept across her lips, he was definitely going to be something exciting. He was nothing compared to any of her previous boyfriends.

XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoX

"Oh there you are darling! I'm heading out, don't wait up" Martha said in a sing song voice as she headed towards the door with purse in hand, "you never know after all who I may meet" she said in a whisper to Castle as she passed by him while he still had not made it through the still open front door.

"Don't worry, mother, I never do" he replied with a wink.

He closed the door behind himself sliding the lock into place. His jacket landing on the coat rack before he made his way up the stairs to peek in on his daughter. Slowly opening her door, he could hear her slight murmurs as she lay in a deep sleep. Watching her sleep was part of his nightly routine. Being able to watch her peaceful slumber always calmed him at the end of the day. Quietly making his way to her bed, he grabbed the afghan that had been left on the chair by the door and placed it over her, following it up with a kiss on her forehead. Taking a step back to watch her for a moment more, then he quietly made his way back out in to the hallway where he closed the door behind him.

Usually at this time, after Alexis was sleeping soundly, he would settle himself into his office and work on research for his novel. However, after a day like he's had, especially an evening like that, research was the last thing he would be able to focus on. Unless it was based on Kate Beckett, she was a mystery he couldn't wait to start exploring.


End file.
